Pubdate: Wed, 23 Aug 2000
Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
Copyright: 2000 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com/
Author: Gary Storck, Madison, WI  

GORE SHOULD GIVE OK TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA

In speeches at the Democratic Convention and again in La Crosse, Al 
Gore said, "It's just wrong to have life-and-death medical decisions 
made by bean-counters at HMOs, who don't have a license to practice 
medicine, and don't have a right to play God. It's time to take the 
medical decisions away from the HMOs and insurance companies and give 
them back to the doctors and the nurses and the health care 
professionals."  

Nice words, but coming from the #2 man in the Clinton Administration, 
which has been waging a brutal war on medicinal marijuana users for the 
last eight years, one can only wonder what gives the federal government 
the right to play God and make life and death decisions for patients 
who could find relief through medical marijuana.  

If Gore wants to demonstrate he really cares about the medical rights 
of Americans, he would immediately renounce these cruel policies that 
criminalize the sick and dying, and promise to ensure that medical 
decisions like the option of using medical marijuana are taken away 
from federal bureaucrats and put back into the hands of patients and 
health care professionals.  
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